


Love On Ice

by Madamrussia13



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Allura is an ice skating princess, Angst, F/M, Feels, Hockey, I don't know Hockey terms okay!, Ice Skating, Keith and Shiro are Siblings, Lots o' Love, M/M, Parallels to actual show, Shiro still has his robo-arm, Shiro was in the Marines
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-12
Updated: 2017-10-27
Packaged: 2018-09-08 04:25:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,084
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8830384
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Madamrussia13/pseuds/Madamrussia13
Summary: This will also include Klance and Hunkay!Modern Au: So all our palidens are now hockey players. Allura is a skating princess. Coran is her coach. And Allura's father is a total hard ass.Through some way, Allura ends up on the team and Shiro becomes her competitive skating partner.Read to find out more!





	1. Chapter 1: Introducing Our Team!

Shiro, Keith, Lance, Hunk, and Katie (or Pidge, as the boys call her) were truly some of the best hockey players out there. Unlucky for most hockey teams, the five are all on the same team. The Arus Lions! They all love the sport with all their hearts. Sometimes getting funds for their games was difficult, but they may do. Considering Pidge's family owns an ice rink, the boys, and Pidge, can skate whenever they please, as long as they book a time first. And that's where our story begins, with their team captain, Shiro, coming in early to set up the hockey arena for the team's first practice of the season.  
"Okay," Shiro says, mentally counting out what he needed for the practice. "There's the nets, the pucks, the sticks, the-" he cut himself off as he noticed a girl skating around in the rink. "-girl." He quickly rushed to the ice to tell her about the scheduled practice, fearing what Lance might do if he saw her. "Hey, miss! You need to leave we're-" The girl jumps but falls on her landing. She get's back up on her feet and slides over to Shiro. Her chocolate skin clashed with her white outfit, and her almost silver looking hair pulled into a bun. "It's rude to scare people like that, you know." Her voice had some edge to it, but the British tint didn't give it the anger she was looking for. "My apologies, uh miss, but the Hockey team will be in here soon, and we have to use the whole rink." Her face scrunched up at his comment. "And my hour isn't up yet." She says, skating away from him. "You can have it at noon, when my time ends!" She calls, from the middle of the rink.  
She resumes her skating, ignoring Shiro all together. Shiro groaned. "Shiro, who's the girl, and why is she on our ice?" Keith, Shiro's younger brother, asks. "I don't know, but apparently she reserved the time slot before ours, and she won't leave until her time is up." They hear some clunking coming from behind them and they watch as the girl on the ice falls again. "Could you please stop all your ruckus!" She yells. The boys turn to see Pidge and Hunk carrying their sticks and their gear bags. "Sorry Miss Allura!" Pidge calls, dropping her stuff on an empty chair. "Ah! Miss Pidge!" A male voice says. A male with pale skin and flaming red hair. "Lovely to see you again." The man hits Pidge on the back. "Pidge, is there something we, as your teammates, should know?" Keith asks.  
"Um, this is Allura Aurum, and her couch, Coran Mayhue." Pidge points to the people in question. "They're in town to train for the upcoming Olympic tryouts." Pidge explains. "Yes indeed. Miss Pidge and her family have been most gracious towards us. We couldn't have asked for a better place to practice." Coran says, hitting Pidge's back again. "Please stop that." Pidge says, moving away from the red headed man. "Well, it's nice to meet you." Shiro sticks out his right arm for a handshake. "I'm Shirogane Takashi, but you can just call me Shiro." Coran reaches for his hand but hesitates. He slowly feels the cool metal that makes up Shiro's hand and he yelps. "What kind of glove is that?" He asks. "Huh?" Shiro looks down at his robotic hand. "Oh." Shiro's voice lost some of it's cheer at the memories that came with the right arm given to him after his second tour in the Middle East. "Shiro was a Marine Corporal." Keith piped up, putting his hand on his brother's shoulder. "Oh, my apologies." Croan says, dabbing a handkerchief on his forehead. "I was a general myself, back in the day. Why, there was this one time when-"  
"Yes, well, I'm sure they'd love to hear your stories, but my father is probable waiting for us, we should go." Allura quickly took off her skates, swapping them for sneakers and gathered her things. "Come now Coran. We mustn't keep my father waiting." Allura says, trying to push Coran up the steps towards the exit. "Of course, good-bye children!" Coran gave a wave good-bye before they disappeared out the exit doors. "Well that was... interesting." Hunk says, picking up his stick. "Pidge and I need to go put our gear on. We'll join you on the ice in a sec." Just as the two pick up their things Lance burst through the doors. "I'm not late! I swear!" He shouts. Keith facepalms and groans at the Cuban boy who's just entered the room. "Sure you're not. That's why you're wearing two different pairs of shoes and you're hair's a mess. Forget your deep cleaning hair cap?"  
"Shut up Mullet!" Lance yells, dropping his things on an empty chair. "You wanna fight?" Keith asks through gritted teeth. "With you? Everytime I see you all I can imagine is smashing your face against something, Pretty Boy!" Their faces were mere feet apart now. "Oh, so I'm the pretty boy? Says the guy who uses Cosmo magazine tips to stay fit and how to properly moisturize." There was practically lightning sparking between them. "Alright, that's enough. Save it for the ice." Shiro says, breaking up the two. "Keith, Lance, get your skates on. I'll set up the rink." The two boys huff without breaking eye contact. "Guys, do it, right now. I'm not going to say it again." Shiro's eyes narrowed. The boys huff again and pull out their skates to lace up for their practice.  
Pidge and Hunk return minutes later and they too lace up their skates. "Alright everyone!" Shiro calls from the ice, the rink all set up. "Come on out. We'll start by just passing the puck around. We've got some new tryouts coming in later today and we'll be having a mock game. So we're getting some practice in so we can crush them later." He gives his team a little smile. "But remember to keep your wits about yourself. They're normally newbies looking for an aggressive outlet. So don't get slammed into one of the sides, if you do the rest of the team will laugh at you and you'll have to get yourself back up again." He looks at his four teammates with his arms crossed over his chest. "Do I make myself clear?" He fake barks like a drill Sergeant. "Sir, yes, sir!" The team say. They all disperse as Shiro drops a puck onto the ice for them to toss around.  
The rest of practice was quite. Well, Keith and Lance got into another fight, but that was normal. The newbies started to arrive around one and Shiro passed out sticks and gear to each person that came to him. There was one person that seemed to put Shiro on edge however. They had their baggy hoodie up so it covered most of their face and gloves covering their hands. Shiro gave them some gear nonetheless, but made a mental not to watch them closely on the ice. "Alright rookies," Shiro yells, addressing the group in front of him. "Today you will be playing a mock game against us. But know, if you make it onto this team you will most likely be an alternate and won't be on the ice as much. Ready? Take the gear you've been given and put it on. When you return we will start the match. Am I understood?" The group murmured and gave nods but the hooded figure gave a small, "Yes, sir." Before following the crowd to the lockers.  
"Well, aren't they a smiley crowd." Pidge says, adjusting her skate a little. "Yeah, but keep an eye on the one in the grey hoodie. I'm getting an uneasy feeling from them. Be careful out there, okay guys? This is our first match without Matt as our sixth member, so we need at least one of them to work." Shiro says. Everyone nods and puts their hands in the middle of the circle they'd created. "On the count of three. One, Two, Three!" They all raise their hands up and shout, "Lions!"  
"Let's go get 'em guys!" Shiro calls, as they all get into position for the game. The five rookies stood in front of them all geared up and ready to play. "One of you, step forward." Shiro instructs. The grey hoody moved forward. "Lance." Shiro motioned for Lance to come to the front. "I'm going to drop the puck and the game will begin. Normally this will be done by the ref, but for lack of resources, I'll be acting as Captain and ref today. First to ten goals wins. Ready?" Both players nod. Shiro mentally counts to three before dropping the puck and dashing away before the two could ram into him. It was a flurry of ice as everyone skated around the rink. It wasn't til near mid game that Shiro noticed Coran watching from the sidelines. 'If he's here... does that mean..?' Shiro tried to do a quick scan for the girl, Allura, who'd been with Coran earlier, but found himself being chucked into the wall.  
The wind fell out of Shiro's lungs as he hit the wall, then the ice. "Come on Shiro! Their about to win!" Pidge yells. Shiro shakes his head and gets back on his feet. He quickly darts in front of the kid that has the puck. The kid tries to stop and loses the puck, which Shiro picks up quickly, heading towards the other team's goal. He's nearly there but he's yet again chucked aside. He looks up at the person who's taken his puck, to find that it's that grey hoodie. He grits his teeth and speeds towards them. They push up against each other as Shiro tries to take the Puck and the hoodie tries to make a shot into the goal. With one large push, the hooded figure hits the puck and it flies past Shiro and into the goal.  
Shiro was so enraged that he was about to rip this guy a new one. "Hey." Shiro grabs the figure by their hood and yanks them back, pulling their hood down. Silvery hair came flowing out of a bun and cascaded down their back. "Um, good game guys." Allura smiled awkwardly. Shiro was flabbergasted. "Uh... Allur-?"  
"Allura!" A man yells, running down the stairs towards the rink. "Uh, that's all for today guys. Come by the rink tomorrow to see you made the team." Shiro yells to the other players, before Allura makes her way over to the man who'd made the loud outburst. He had similar features as Allura so Shiro could only guess that this was some sort of relative to her. "Hello father." Allura says in a small voice, her head down. They start to have a whispered conversation off the the side as the rest of the Lion's hockey team gathered by Shiro. "Hey, Allura's last name is Aurum, right?" Lance asks, looking at Allura's father. "Yeah, why?" Pidge answers. Lance's eyes go wide and he makes a noise Shiro can only compare to a dying fish gasping from lack of water.. "That's Alfor Aurum! He and his wife were every time gold medalist winners in the winter Olympics, for the couple's skating deviation." Everyone looked at Lance like he'd grown a second head. "What? It's cool and it's how I learned how to skate." Keith snickers. "So you learned from coupling? Where you ever the girl?" Shiro sighed as the two started a new argument. "I'm going to go talk to him. Make sure those two don't kill each other, please." Shiro tells Pidge and Hunk. They give small solutes and Shiro does the same.  
"Good afternoon, sir." Shiro says, skating so he's right beside Allura. "I'm the Team Captain of the Arus Lions. My name is Shiro." The man looked Shiro up and down with a glare. "And your point?" He barks. "Well, if there's anything I can help with-"  
"No, there isn't. Come now Allura. We need to get you fitted for your dress. I'll allow you to say good-bye and then you will meet me at the exit. Don't think you're off the hook either, Coran!" He yells at the redhead, to which he turns and makes his way up the stairs. "Well, he's intense, isn't he?" Shiro says, trying to crack a joke, but Allura's forlorn face doesn't budge. "He's always like that." She whispers, more to herself than to Shiro, and exit's the rink. She quickly takes off her skates and changes back into her sneakers. "It was wonderful playing with you." Allura says. Before anyone can say the same her father shouts at her again and she swiftly makes her way up the stairs and out the door again.


	2. Chapter 2: The Dance That Changed Everything

It's been a week since Allura's father came and made his grandiose scene. Sometimes, if Shiro came in early enough, he'd see her dancing on the ice. Her face never showed the energy that her movements did. She may have had a smile on her face, but there was a pain behind it. Shiro wanted to talk to her, but her father was always there, giving him a look that could kill. However, one day, while Shiro took over Pidge's stocking shift so she could go see her brother in the hospital, Allura came in, wiping away what looked like tears.  
Shiro watched her from afar as she sat and stared at the near-blinding ice. She had ear buds placed in her slightly elfish ears so she couldn't hear Shiro coming down the steps to sit behind her. "Hey." Shiro says, placing his right hand on her shoulder. Allura jumps and grips his wrist in a death lock. "Whoa now. I'm not gonna hurt you." Shiro says with a laugh. Allura blushes and let's go of Shiro's robotic limb. "I'm sorry. Are you practicing today?" She asks, trying in vain to wipe away the tear stains on her face. "No, are you?" Shiro asks back. "No." Her voice is breathy and sad. "I didn't make it." She says under her breath. "What?" Shiro asks. "The Olympics." She briefly looks up at him. "I didn't qualify. I kept falling on my jumps and I was really stiff and.... My father yelled at me afterwards. Out of ten people I got sixth place. He basically called me a disgrace to his legacy. It was awful, Shiro." She looks at the ice with sad eyes. "I just want to skate. No medal needed. I just want to love the sport, like my mother did. And as you do. I'd love to have a team to spend time with, who like me for me, and not for the medal around my neck."  
Shiro sighs. "Alright, I'll be right back. Don't you go anywhere." He stands and jogs the the overhead booth, where the announce game scores during hockey games. He grabs a large boom box and places it on the wall surrounding the ice. Allura looks at him questioningly, he just smiles and walks over to her. "What's all this for?" Allura asks, watching as Shiro puts on his skates. "You said you wanted to just skate, right? Not thinking of winning a medal?" She nods. "Then, get your skates on." She giggles at him. "You're going to figure skate with me?" Shiro shrugs. "I play hockey, how different could the two be?" Allura giggles, slipping on the white skates, and takes Shiro's hand.  
Shiro helps her onto the ice and pushes play on the boom box. A piano cover of 'Treat a You Better' by Shawn Mendes fills the room. They start off simple. Skating in circles, around the outer edge of the rink, then cross foot, then the beat picks up and Allura starts to do spins. "Can you jump on the ice?" Allura asks. Shiro smiles. "Maybe. One can always try." She gestures for him to try and he rubs his hands together before breaking into a sprinting skate. He leaps, spins, and lands, his left leg in a 90 degree angle with his right, a confident smile on his face. Allura huffs. "Lucky chance." She mummers. Shiro laughs and reaches his hand for her to have. "Dance with me?" He asks. She takes his hand tentatively. "Follow my lead?" He asks down at her, she only nods. "Good." He pulls her closer and they glide across the ice like they're waltzing. He spins her around a few times. Shiro slowly starts to appreciate all those ballet and skating lessons his mother put him through, just to see Allura smile a giggle they way she was. "Can you lift me?" Allura asks.  
"One can always try." Shiro says. He and Allura start to gain momentum, they do small jumps and then Allura gives him a nod. He nods back, positions his legs properly, grabs Allura by the waist and hoists her up above his head. She pulls her hair out of its bun and lets it flow around in the fake wind Shiro's momentum was creating. As the song came to a close Shiro set Allura back down on the ice and they were both grinning like idiots. "Feel better?" Shiro asks. Allura doesn't answer with words. She, instead, flings her arms around him as tight as she can. When she lets him go she looks as if she's going to cry again. "Thank you Shiro, that was the most fun I've had on the ice in a long time." Shiro wiped a stray tear off her cheek. "Any time. Remember that, alright?" She nods. They stay there, just looking at eachother for a while until Shiro starts to bend closer to her. They're inches apart when the doors open abruptly.  
"Allura!" Coran's voice was panicked and frantic. "Oh, hello Coran." The two step away from each other and Allura gives a small wave. "You're father and I have been looking everywhere for you!" Coran says, running down to them. "We need to prep you for the British Singles competition." Shiro arches an eyebrow. "British competition?" He looks at Allura in confusion. "We're from a town called Altea. It's about about outside of London." Allura explains. "We came to america for the qualifications, but since I didn't make it, we're going to go back and I'll compete in just the British deviation." Allura casts her eyes down. Shiro furrows his eyebrows. "Is there anyway you could stay?" He asks, an idea blooming in his head. "Only if I had a partner, but who knows how long that would take. Male skaters are harder to find than you'd think." Shiro takes her hand and looks her in the eyes. "You've got me. And if you want to stay, I'll help you stay."  
"What are you talking about?" Allura asks. "Coran, when is the couples competition?" Shiro asks, ignoring Allura's question. "Um, in about four weeks, give-or-take. Counting is more of an art than a science in my book." Coran says, counting on his fingers. "Perfect." Shiro looks at Allura with a bright smile on his face. "If you'll have me, I'd like to be your partner and if you would, I'd like you on my hockey team." A blush creeps onto Allura's face as she nodded. Shiro smiled brightly at her. "Don't worry about a thing." He gives her hand a squeeze before letting it go. "The team meets tomorrow at one. Don't be late." Shiro smiles and exits the rink.


	3. So Disarming

“Alright, everyone! Settle down!” Shiro calls over all the yammering coming from his team. “In about six weeks time we will have our first office game against our long time rivals, the Galra Sabertooth Tigers.” The team boos and Shiro laughs. “But with practice, we will defeat them. They’ve had a winning streak against us for a long time now, but as long as we’re smart and tactical, I know that we will rip them off their pedestal and take our place at the top!” The team yells and cheers in approval. “Alright! Now let’s start our training, yeah?”  
“Sir, yes, sir!” The team yells at him. “The boy has spunk, I’ll give him that,” Alfor grumbles from his seat in the bleachers. “Yes, and Allura seems to be very compatible with him. You should have seen them on the ice. And that was them just messing around!” Coran laughs. “Excuse me?” An older man like the other two walks up to them. “I’m the owner of this establishment, Pidge is my daughter. You say that Shiro and your girl are together now?” Alfor practically growls. “No daughter of mine would date a runt on the ice like him. I told her is she needed a partner for coupling I’d find her a proper one, but no, she goes and chooses him.” He gestures to Shiro, who’s teaching Allura how to properly hold and swing a hockey stick.  
“And, follow through,” Shiro says, helping her hit the puck in front of them. “See, just like golf, only, don’t swing so high next time. That would get us penalized for reckless endangerment of other players.” Allura nods. “How do you even know all this stuff. Is there a teaching book or something?” Shiro laughs and shakes his head. “No. Well, maybe, there is, but that’s not how Keith and I learned. My father was a hockey player and so our mother would take us to his games every once in awhile. I wanted to learn to skate right away, but Keith just liked the violent part of it. He was always a little rascal during skating practice.” Shiro runs his right hand through his hair, the metal catching the light. Allura looks at in wonder. “If it’s not too much to ask, what exactly happened to get you that arm?”  
Shiro touches the metal cautiously. “I, um, well-” Allura took his stuttering as a no and quickly added, “But if it is too much to ask, then you don’t have to tell me anything. I’d hate to make you feel uncomfortable.” Shiro laughs at her frantic behavior. “No, it’s alright. I don’t really talk about it and no one’s ever asked. To be honest, I kinda forget that it's even there most of the time.” He says, rubbing around the wrist of the fake arm. “But if you’re really curious, I was out searching for the leader of our troop, when an enemy came out of nowhere and started to attack me. He stabbed me in the arm and his blade had poison on it. They had to cut my arm off before it got too far into my bloodstream.” Shiro gives a laugh to try and lighten the mood. “But the robotic replacement they made for me is pretty cool, right?” He asks, flexing the metal piece.  
Allura smile and touches the arm. “Yes. It’s very wonderful.” She notes. Shiro blushes as she gently traces along the sides of the metal. “Well,” Shiro pulls away slightly. “We’d better pick some music for our couples tournament, right?” He laughs nervously. “I suppose, but what about the team? Will they be okay training on their own for a while?” Allura asks. “Pissh.” Shiro waves his hand in dismission. “That’s why I have Pidge. She’s my co-captain. It was supposed to be Keith but he and Lance fight too much and Pidge’s brother was my original co-captain, so it just seemed right for her to take his place. For the time being of course.”  
“What happened to Pidge’s brother?” Allura asks after Shiro gave the announcement that Pidge would be leading practice for the rest of the time. “Well, Matt’s a strong kid but everyone has a bad day. You see, we were playing the Galra Sabertooth Tigers, and they hurt him really bad. Broke his leg and arm. One sliced my nose when I went to help him up.” He says, pointing to the scar. Allura puts her hand on his cheek and looks curiously at the scar. “Did they get, um, flagged for it?” She asks, trying to use the terminology that Shiro had tried to teach her. “Yeah. But their coach must have bribed someone powerful because nothing really happened after that. They won and no one was sued or anything. Not like we’d win that fight.” He chuckles and pulls her hand from his face. “Come on. We need to pick a theme and a song.” Allura nods. “Right... Of course.” She says, not able to shake this weird feeling she had in the pit of her stomach.


	4. Princess

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry it's short but I promise there's gonna be a lot in the next chapter! Promise!

“Okay, so what should our theme be?” Shiro asks, looking through previous videos of couples skating. “Well, how about, ‘New Beginnings’ or something about being fresh and new,” Allura suggests. “Um, and did you have a song in mind? Because I was thinking of having the theme be about ‘protection’.” Shiro says sheepishly. Allura puts her hands on her hips skeptically. “Protection? Really? Why protection?” Shiro rubs the back of his neck. “Well, I like the thought of the need to protect. The adventure, the value, the... I don’t know. Just forget about it.” He moves to look through other themes they could choose from. “No.” Allura touches his shoulder. “I’m sorry. It’s just at ‘protection’ is an interesting theme. Usually, people choose, romance or pain. Never have I seen one for ‘protection’.” She smiles at him. “It could be fun.” Shiro stands up from his rolling chair and gasps. “Really?” He realizes his over enthusiasm and clears his throat. “That-that’s really nice of you. To choose my idea, I mean.” He laughs nervously.  
“Of course.” She shrugs. Shiro beams at her. “Then how about our first song can be ‘Treat you Better’ and our second can be,” Shiro looks through his playlist. “This one, ‘Parachute’. Do think they’d fit our theme?” Shiro asks excitedly. Allura laughs. “I think they’ll work wonderfully Shiro.” She puts a hand on his shoulder. “I’ll hand these to Coran and he can make us a dance for it.” She writes down the names of the songs on a small notepad that she always carried with her. “Is there anything else we need to do before we go back to hockey?” Allura asks with a smile. “Um, not to my knowledge, no,” Shiro says, looking out the large windows that looked down towards the hockey rink. He pressed the microphone’s 'on' button. “Uh, Pidge, how about we wrap up for the day?” Shiro asks into the microphone. Pidge smiles and gives a thumbs-up. Shiro sighed. “So, what now?” Allura asks.  
“Now?” He looks up at her with an arched eyebrow. “Now I get something to eat with the team. You’re more than welcome to join us if you’re not doing anything.” He stands and gives her a wide smile. “And if you need a ride, I’m sure Keith won’t mind sitting in the back.” They both laugh a little. Shiro rubs the back of his neck and looks at her with hopeful eyes. “So, ya wanna come?” Allura lets out another laugh. “Sounds delightful. I’d be happy to join you all.”  
“Then follow me, princess.” He says, giving a little bow. Allura blushed. “You mustn’t be so formal. Just because I have more experience than you, doesn't make me a princess.” She notes. “No,” He stands upright. “But I’ve seen you skate. And I may or may not have looked up how many wins you’ve been given.” He opens the door and holds it open for her. “Thirteen consecutive medals. It’s very impressive.” Allura waves her hand back and forth at his comment. “It’s nothing really. My father drilled me very hard as a child and my mother always choreographed my dances. That is,” she pauses, her face falling a little. “Until she passed away a few years back. I was only ten.” Shiro puts a hand on her shoulder. “I’m so sorry. I lost my mom a while back too.” He says with a reassuring smile. “But when she died, it only made me want to skate more. To make her proud. She was always so supportive of Keith and me.”  
Allura wiped away the small tears at the corner of her eyes. “Thank you, Shiro. You’re a good friend.” She smiles up at him and Shiro gives a small laugh. “I’m always here for you, princess.” He adds the nickname in a teasing way. Allura groans. “Please tell me that’s not a nickname that will stick.” Shiro laughs, following her down to the main rink. “Oh, it’s gonna stick to you like glue.” His smile broadens as Keith runs up to them. “Hey,” He says, acknowledging Allura before looking back at Shiro. “I’m taking my bike to the diner, I hope that’s okay.” Shiro nods. “Um, of course. Guess it’ll just be you and me, Princess.” He chuckles.  
“Shiro!” Lance calls, pushing past Keith. “Shiro! Pidge is riding with her dad to visit Matt and Hunk already left. Can I hitch a ride with you and-OW!” Keith hits Lance on the back of his head. “You idiot. You can ride with me.” He starts to walk away. “W-wait!” Lance follows behind him. “But you’ve never let me on your bike before and-”  
“Shut and follow me or I’m leaving your ass behind,” Keith says, he's cheeks only slightly red. “Okay, right behind ya!” Shiro laughs at the two boys. “Anyways, still want that dinner?” Shiro asks. Allura giggles with a smile. “Yes. Dinner sounds lovely.”


	5. The Balmera

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We meet up with the gang at a local family restaurant!

The radio was the only noise floating around in the car as Shiro drove down the road towards the restaurant. The air was in a constant shift between awkward and embarrassing. Both Allura and Shiro wanted to speak but neither could form the words. “So...” Shiro says slowly. “How are you liking Arus so far?” He asks, trying to spark the conversation. Allura smiled with relief. “Oh it’s wonderful, everyone’s been really nice and the landscape is so beautiful, nothing like the dark, gloomy days we get out near Altea.” She explains with vigor. “Well, I’m glad. But you haven’t truly had an Arus town experience until you eaten at The Balmara. It’s all local stuff and you can only get it here.” He notes as he pulls into the parking lot, finding a fairly close spot. “Looks like the others are already here,” Shiro says, seeing Hunk’s Jeep and Keith’s motorcycle parked side by side.

“Yes, I hope they got a table for us,” Allura says, following Shiro into the waiting area. “Hello, Shiro!” The hostess girl greets with a smile. “Hunk and your other friends are already seated. Follow me.” The girl had light brown skin with dark freckles dusting her nose. Her hair was short and seemed to poof out because of its massive volume. “Thanks, Shay.” Shiro takes Allura’s hand and leads her through the crowded room as he follows Shay. “It’s no problem really.” She stops short and has a blush creeping up to her cheeks as her eyes fall on a certain teammate of Shiro’s. “I-I just remembered!” She stutters out. ”Dad needs me in the kitchen.” She says before skittering off. Shiro laughs at Allura’s confused face.

“Shay has quite the crush on Hunk.” He explains. “And Hunk likes her, but nighter with ask the other out.“ He shakes his head. “It’s silly really, but it makes it easy to tease Hunk. Come on.” He pulls on her hand that’s still holding his and leads her to the table. “Wow, well don’t you two work fast?” Keith says with a smile, leaning over the booth’s back to look at the two. The two in question blush and Shiro let’s go of Allura’s hand. “It-it’s really crowded and I didn’t want her to get lost.” Shiro tries to explain as he sits beside his younger brother. “Uh-huh?” Keith says with a chuckle and smirk. Lance laughs a little as well and smiles when Allura sits beside him. “Well, you’ve arrived just in time. We were just about to order. Shay is our waitress.” He gives a pointed look towards Hunk. “Why are you looking at me?” He asks with an awkward laugh. “Because you clearly like her and she clearly likes you. This whole mutual pining thing is getting old.” Lance says.

“Guys that’s not it at all I just-” Hunk was cut off when a blushing Shay came over to take their order. She kept giggling and looking at Hunk. “I’ll be right back with drinks.” She says, looking straight at Hunk before turning away. “Uh, Earth to Hunk. You still there buddy?” Lance teases. “Huh? Oh! Yeah.” Lance and Keith laugh at Hunk and his lovestruck face.

“So, princess.” Shiro leans closer to Allura and puts his arm on the back of their booth. “What's England like? I've never been.” He smiles, just trying to make small talk. “Oh, I think you’d really like it. There’s traffic practically all the time near the city but the country is one of the best places!” Allura says with a bright smile. Shiro was going to say something when he hears a tray of glasses drop and shatter. He turns and sees Shay with an attractive male gripping her wrist tightly. “P-Please,” Shay begs, eyes wide with fear. “Let me go.” The man chuckles. “Let you go?” He turns to his friends. “What do you think boys? Should I let her go? After she dumped a drink on me?” That’s when Shiro noticed who the group was. They were Galra Hockey players.

Shiro was on his way of standing when he sees Hunk pass the front of their table. The large Samoan was marching over to Shay as he yells, “Hey! You let her go this instant!” The man holding Shay just laughed and pulled Shay close to his chest, rubbing her body inappropriately. “Or what Punk?” That was the last straw. “Or this!” Hunk yells, making his fist collided with the man’s face. There was a collective of gasps and one shout of encouragement from Lance.

The man growls and lets go of Shay. “Fine! You can have her. We were just leaving anyway.” He signals for his friends to follow him and the exit the restaurant. Shay was cuddling against Hunk’s chest as she whimpered a little. “Hey, Shay, you okay?” He asks. Shay just wraps her arms around Hunk and hugs him tightly. “I was so scared. Thank you for saving me Hunk.”

“What happened?” Shay’s brother, Rax, comes up to the two with a look of concern. “Hunk just saved me from those awful Galra players.” She nuzzles into Hunk’s chest. “He’s my hero.” Hunk blushes and giggles awkwardly. “Aw, it was nothing. Really.” Rax narrows his eyes. “Be that as it may. You need to get back to work. I’m going out to deliver some food. I’ll be back soon.” He moves past them and out the restaurant doors. “Don’t mind him.” Shay pulls away from Hunk. “But I really do need to get back to work.” She starts to walk away but pauses. “I'll give you a free dessert for saving me. And you can’t say no!” She adds before disappearing into the kitchen.

Everything had quieted down when Hunk made it back to his table. “Whoo-hoo!” Lance cheers as Hunk sits down. “Way to go buddy!” Lance hits Hunk on the back. Shiro smiles. “That was a very chivalrous thing you did there. We’re all proud of you.” Allura nods. “I’ve never seen someone do that before! It was so exciting!” She says with a giggle. Hunk blushes and shies away from the group. “Guys, it was nothing. Shay was in trouble. I had to help her.”

Lance chuckles. “Did you help her because it was the right thing or because you like her~?” He asks teasingly. Hunk shoves Lance playfully. “Shut up, Lance.” The boy’s bickering makes Shiro laugh. “Shiro.” Allura stares at her hands and a small blush forms on her cheeks. “I-I’m very happy that you allowed me to join you all tonight.” She says softly, making Shiro chuckle. “Anytime, Princess.” He smiles brightly. “Thank you, Shiro.” She smiles back. “You make a lovely leader.” There was a moment where Shiro felt like Allura was leaning in or maybe he was, but the moment was ruined when Keith cleared his throat.

“Shiro. We should get home soon. Well, I have to take Lance home, but make sure to feed Red and Kuro if you get home first.” Keith practically pushes the other boys out of the booth. “You got it,” Shiro calls after him as Keith pulls Lance away before he can ruin Hunk and Shay’s conversation.

Shiro looks down at Allura. “I guess I have to take you home now.” He gives an apologetic smile. “Oh, don’t worry about it.” She waves it off as she stands. “Father is probably starting to worry anyway.” Shiro follows suit and helps Allura into his car. “Again, sorry about the van. I feel like I babysit most of this team with how childish they act.” He says as he gets into his van. “Then I guess that makes you the Hockey Dad.” Allura jokes. “And you the Skate Mom.” He jokes back. Allura just smiles and looks at the road ahead.


	6. It Starts

“Keith?” Shiro calls out as he steps into their shared condo. “Guess he’s not home yet.” He sighs, filling up the cat’s bowls as Kuro rubbed against his leg. Red was perched upon his little Cat Tower. Shiro chuckled. “Hey Red. Keith should be home soon and you’ll have your cuddle partner back.” Red seems to scoff and lays down on the tower. Shiro shakes his head at the cat. “Fine fine.” He leaves Red to sulk and Kuro to eat.  
About ten minutes later, Keith comes through the door like a fierce fire. He slams the door closed with his foot and just silently fumes there for a moment. “Oh, hey buddy. Did something happen.” Evidently, this was the worst thing to have asked Keith because the boy whips his head towards Shiro, totally red in the face. “EVERYTHING IS FINE! I’M FINE! I DON’T NEED YOUR HELP!” With that Keith storms off to his room, Red following close behind.  
Shiro lifts an eyebrow. “Oookkaaayy.” Shiro looks to Kuro with a concerned and worried look. “I guess something happened with Lance again.” Kuro meows. “Should I talk to him?” Shiro pets the cat as she purrs in his lap. “Probably not right?” For a moment it looks like Kuro nods and Shiro sighs. “Maybe we could talk tomorrow. Sleep always clears his head.”  
But tonight, sleep was the last thing on Keith’s mind. Red was curled up on his chest as he looked up at his ceiling. He slowly pets Red’s soft fur as he thought about earlier that day.

“Shiro. We should get home soon. Well, I have to take Lance home, but make sure to feed Red and Kuro if you get home first.” Keith pushes Lance out of the booth. “You got it.” He hears his brother call after him as he takes Lance outside. “Come on~!” Lance whines. “Why do you always stop my fun?” He teases. Keith rolls his eyes as they both walk to his bike. “Because you shouldn’t make fun of Hunk at a time of his happiness.” He grumbles. “I was not!” Lance interjects. Keith mainly ignores him after that as he gets on his bike and takes Lance home. Even if Lance had tried to say something, Keith was going too fast for any conversation to transpire. Keith pulls up to Lance’s house and sighs. “We’re here.” Lance slowly lets go of Keith and gets off the bike. “Thanks,” Lance said quickly, but he lingers at Keith’s bike. “Yes? Something else you wanna say?” Keith asks with a bite in his tone. Lance takes a deep breath. “Okay... I know we fight and bicker,” He puts his hand on Keith’s shoulder. “But I do consider you a friend.” Lance smiles brightly. “Don’t forget that, okay?” He pats Keith’s shoulder before heading off to his home. Keith says there for a moment, mildly red-faced, before speeding off towards home.

Keith slowly opens his eyes (that he hadn’t realized he’s closed in the first place) when a knock comes to his door. “Keith. I’m going out to train with Allura. Call me if you need something.” Keith sits up, making the small tabby to fall into his lap. “Okay! I’ll be here!”  
Shiro laughs a little to himself. “Cool! See ya later.” Shiro grabs his skating bag and heads out to meet up with Allura at the rink. He opens the doors to see Allura already doing warm-ups. “Do you just live on the ice?” He asks, loud enough for her to hear while putting on his skates. Allura just laughs as she stops and leans over the border. “No. But pretty close to it.” She smiles and Shiro blushes a little. “You know. You really should smile like that more, Princess.” He joins her on the ice with a smile.  
Allura rolls her eyes. “Anyways. Did you bring the music? I brought the, what did you call it, the boom box?” She says, gesturing towards the stereo sitting on the ice rink border. Shiro pulls a CD out of his hoodie pocket. “Yep. No worries.” He gives her a bright smile as he skates over and puts the CD into place. “What set do we start with? Parachute or Treat You Better?” He asks, ready to push play at Allura’s command. “How about Parachute? I’ve been listening to it, trying to think of choreography and I think I’ve got a start of something. And I was hoping if we did it together it would come out better. Ya know?” She explains.  
Shiro laughs a little and pushes play on the CD Player. “You don’t need to explain yourself to me, Allura.” He holds out his robotic arm to her. “Just show me what you have and I’ll follow your lead. For now.” He teases.  
Allura narrows her eyes, but a smile graces her lips as she takes his hand. “Fine. Do try and keep up.” She teases back.  
Shiro scoffs and they begin to glide across the ice.


End file.
